From the Desk of Dr Arkham
by Madwoman with a box
Summary: Ellda is a 14 year old murderess. She's insane, homicidal and dead? Ellda Radoe died in a fire, so who is the girl with the scars inside and out? And who is out to get her? implied rape and torture. Finished! Sequal: I didn't mean to.
1. Chapter1:the Joker files

Every other chapter for the first three or so chapters is an 'Arkham file' if you'd like you can generally skip them because they often get reposted in the next chapter

Disclaimer: I wish I could own it but I don't*sigh* someday…..someday….

The documents in this file are the sole property of Arkham Asylum and its associates. If copies of this are leaked, please report it immediately. It is of the utmost importance that these documents not enter the possession of anyone associated with the Wssc. The asylum is not equipped to fend off crazy fans.

Joker

Age:?

Name:?

Aquaintences (criminal):Wssc (see: Why so serious crew), Ellda Radoe (see:Circus Freak) Batman?(see: Vigilantes)

Subject has no known family, name, age, or evidence of having existed before being the Joker. His defining features are two scars on the sides of his face that give him the look of constantly sporting a deranged smile. He customarily wears clown face paint and a green and purple suit. He has no specialty crime and has committed homicide, assault, breaking and entering, robbery, and refusing to yield to federal charges. He is very dangerous and should not be approached. Despite his criminal nature, he has gained many loyal followers who call themselves the Wssc(see above). A list of them is compiled in their documents. He also has gained several enemies including a psychopath who calls herself Circus Freak and an amnesiac psychology genius who calls herself Hatter Madigan.

End of document

Dear Dr Arkham & co.

Hiya! As something of a joke We're stealing your papers. Right off your desk! HAHAHA. Think of it as a bit of public education about criminals! If you can't find whose cup of tea this is we'll post more! You better hurry though! Boss is planning something big!

Yours truly,

The W crew!


	2. Chapter2: Who dunnit?

"Oh god." Lily muttered as she started up the computer at her desk.

Instead of the usual New York skyline screen saver, a document filled the page. She looked over it recognizing the files Dr. Arkham had updated the day before. It was the same document except for the bit at the bottom and she looked closer. There hadn't ever been any thing about fans in the beginning. Some one was planning something.

"Dr. Arkham! You need to see this!" She yelled into the office.

Jeremiah looked out frowning, "Don't yell Lily. I've already seen it. Who ever posted the document overrode anything with an internet connection. Before you ask, yes I'm compiling a list of suspects. I need you to try and deal with the press because they are going to all over this."

"Of course Doctor." Lily said shutting down the computer and getting up to walk to the door and watch for the reporters to come.

As she walked she passed by the cell of a girl with a long black and red braid, sitting on her bed staring blankly into space. As Lily walked by though the girl smiled.

"Hi, Flowers. Tell me what's happening? Don't you tell me nothing, if it was nothing you'd be sitting behind that desk pushing papers." The girl stared at lily with colorless eyes.

"I'm not supposed to even talk to you Ellda." Lily said shivering, she had never figured out how the blind girl always knew exactly who was there.

"Just tell me already."

"Some one's posting the asylums files on every computer in Gotham." Lily said hurriedly glancing around, a few other criminals appeared interested in the conversation, "I Have to deal with the press."

"Then deal with them, Flowers. What are you waiting here for?" Ellda said smirking.

Lily sighed and ran off to answer the questions of the already forming crowd of reporters. The inmates waited until Ellda , who was listening intently to Lily's foot steps, said said that she was out of earshot.

"A security guard looking for a shot at fame."

"This is too smart for a security guard, Cobblepot. What about that girl, the one that's allergic to the sun?"

"That's ridiculous, Clue Master, it's not Chemical's style she's more likely to blow something up or rob NASA. It's actually something I would do."

"Who ever did it will have left a way to find them, Ellda. They want us to learn something."

"No one else cares about the victim learning things other than you Nigma."

"It, ah sounds like like something myyy girls would do."

"No one cares Clown!"

"Be quiet the lot of you!"

Every one looked at Ellda after she yelled. She continued to stare at nothing in particular as she continued, "The only way we'll know who is having such fun at our expense is by reading the files. This will of course require that one of you give up an escape plan to do so."

"Us? Why not you?" said an indignant Pamela.

Ellda smirked, "I can't read, Ivy. You could try something with your weeds though."

"I have a question."

"Spit it crow boy."

"Why does Lily always give you the news?"

Ellda fell off her bed in a fit of laughter, "Because she knows what we did to the last secretary who didn't give us the news!"

Jonothan smiled, "Good old fear. So effective."

Ellda jumped up, "The Shrink is coming."

Every one quieted as Dr Arkham walked over to Ellda's cell and slipped a paper through the bars.

"Since you're already trying to make sense of it any way you might well try with the document." He said as Ellda picked up the piece of paper, "On the condition that you tell me when you figure it out."

No one spoke as he walked away. Ellda passed the letter to the cell next to hers.

"Tell us what it says Crow."

"It's rather long…"

"Read it Crane, or I will personally buy your funeral plot, and make sure you are in it."

"Right, well it seems to be the Clowns file.

The documents in this file are the sole property of Arkham Asylum and its associates. If copies of this are leaked, please report it immediately. It is of the utmost importance that these documents not enter the possession of anyone associated with the Wssc. The asylum is not equipped to fend off crazy fans.

Joker

Age:?

Name:?

Aquaintences (criminal):Wssc (see: Why so serious crew), Ellda Radoe (see:Circus Freak) Batman?(see: Vigilantes)

Subject has no known family, name, age, or evidence of having existed before being the Joker. His defining features are two scars on the sides of his face that give him the look of constantly sporting a deranged smile. He customarily wears clown face paint and a green and purple suit. He has no specialty crime and has committed homicide, assault, breaking and entering, robbery, and refusing to yield to federal charges. He is very dangerous and should not be approached. Despite his criminal nature, he has gained many loyal followers who call themselves the Wssc(see above). A list of them is compiled in their documents. He also has gained several enemies including a psychopath who calls herself Circus Freak and an amnesiac psychology genius who calls herself Hatter Madigan.

End of document

Dear Dr Arkham & co.

Hiya! As something of a joke We're stealing your papers. Right off your desk! HAHAHA. Think of it as a bit of public education about criminals! If you can't find whose cup of tea this is we'll post more! You better hurry though! Boss is planning something big!

Yours truly,

The W crew!"

"Toldja it was my girls."

"Cup of tea! Hatter Madigan! It's Alice!"

"It's not your brat Hatter. And unless you're planning something Jokes it's not your girls either." Ellda snapped, "Riddles, Clues, any imput?"

"The bit about fans is a riddle. The poster is a fan of something and a connection to that obsession is in Arkham."

"Real specific, Nigma. Clues?"

"W could be the wssc or wonderland. It fits the wssc better though."

Ellda lay on her bed, "We'll just have to wait for the next document."


	3. Chapter3: The WSSC files

The documents in this file are the sole property of Arkham Asylum and its associates. If copies of this are leaked, please report it immediately. It is of the utmost importance that these documents not enter the possession of anyone associated with the Wssc. The asylum is not equipped to fend off crazy fans.

Wssc

A Group of mostly underage girls who are followers of the well known criminal Joker. Their crimes include murder, homicide, bombing, assault, armed robbery, and torture.

Members (current):

Hailey: Has the most status and when not taking orders from joker the Wssc takes orders from her.

Rou/Roulette: Enjoys torture rarely kills,

Marian: Has multiple personality disorder all of her identities are extremely hostile.

Debby: Was scarred by her father with a the number eight and later the joker scarred her with a j. she leaves her trademark eight on victims bodies.

Harley Quinn: See Harleen quinzel

Members (past):

Ellda Radoe; ( Ain't that right circ! You use to be one of the girls!) The first to desert the Wssc and live. Arguably the most dangerous psychopath besides the joker. Has been separately charged with : bombing, murder, homicide, armed robbery, hit and run, assault, assault of a federal officer, prison break, arson, Taking hostages and torturing others to insanity See circus freak

Aaron: The second deserter. No surname. Was raised in an orphanage. Appears to be living a crime free life since deserting.

Dear Dr Arkham & co.

How doth the richest man of wiles

improve his liar's tale

And pour the waters of denial

On insanity's scale

How cheerfully the foe does grin

How neatly breaks the law

And welcomes bloody corpses in

With gently smiling jaws

Better hurry!

Yours truly,

The W crew


	4. Chapter4:Pudding and the culprit

"Crane, I don't care what it says. Just read it." Ellda snapped before continuing to devour pudding cups.

"I have read it, and I'm telling you that if I tell you what it says you are going to murder me." Jonathan answered sliding a little farther away from her at the table.

"If you don't tell her she'll kill you." Pamela said as she picked at a plate of green mush.

"Pammy's right Johnny-boy. The little girl packs a punch." Joker added chuckling slightly.

"No one asked you clown! Read Crane, if you want to live read it before I finish the pudding." Ellda said pointing her spork at Jonathan threateningly.

"Alright, I'll read it.

Wssc

A Group of mostly underage girls who are followers of the well known criminal Joker. Their crimes include murder, homicide, bombing, assault, armed robbery, and torture.

Members (current):

Hailey: Has the most status and when not taking orders from joker the Wssc takes orders from her.

Rou/Roulette: Enjoys torture rarely kills,

Marian: Has multiple personality disorder all of her identities are extremely hostile.

Debby: Was scarred by her father with a the number eight and later the joker scarred her with a j. she leaves her trademark eight on victims bodies.

Harley Quinn: See Harleen quinzel

Members (past):

Ellda Radoe; ( Ain't that right circ! You use to be one of the girls!)-"

"Wait what? You were a joker girl?"

"Aww I can just see her with with paint and lip stick."

"Why didn't ya tell them Circus girl? Didn't you have fun? Or are ya just embarrassed for doing murder for hire?"

"Shut up Clown. Crane keep reading, you're running out of pudding cups." Ellda snapped

"Right of course, Ellda Radoe The first to desert the Wssc and live. Arguably the most dangerous psychopath besides the joker-"

"See Clown! Ha! Close second Jokes! Ha!"Ellda Yelled triumphantly as globs of pudding flew off her spoon, "Please continue."

"Has been separately charged with : bombing, murder, homicide, armed robbery, hit and run, assault, assault of a federal officer, prison break, arson, Taking hostages and torturing others to insanity See circus freak."

"Why does she have a longer list than you Joker? Getting a bit washed up perhaps?" Smirked Oswald

"Despite Harley's insistence I've always found him a bit over rated. But seriously bested by a fourteen year old? That's pathetic." Pamela added smugly.

"Well how about your list Pammy? Hmmm? Not as easy as it looks huh?" Joker cut in before any one else could add anything.

"That….That's beside the point. The point is….is your list. Not mine." Pamela sputtered, Tinges of pink appearing amongst the green.

"Crane read the rest Read Erin's bit." Ellda said for once not interested in praise.

"Your mean Aaron?" Jonathan asked looking at the paper again.

"Aaron? I never had an Aaron, just The freaks little friend Erin." Joker said nonchalantly.

"Well it says Aaron with two a's, here I'll read it, Aaron: The second deserter. No surname. Was raised in an orphanage. Appears to be living a crime free life since deserting."

"Only crime free because she stole Her mobster "sisters" fortune. She was raised by mob bosses." Ellda snorted as she continued with her pudding.

"Then of course the letter. Seems to be a sort of poem.

Dear Dr Arkham & co.

How doth the-"

"Oh it's the one about the crocodile or the bumblebee the Hatter keeps singing. I think he really is the most far gone of us all." Ellda noted and every one nodded except joker who was flicking peas at the inmates at the next table.

"Actually no it goes

How doth the richest man of wiles

improve his liar's tale

And pour the waters of denial

On insanity's scale

How cheerfully the foe does grin

How neatly breaks the law

And welcomes bloody corpses in

With gently smiling jaws

Better hurry!

Yours truly,

The W crew"

"Why is the clown in the poem? The bit about the foe who smiles is so Jokes. I don't get the first bit, it's obviously something about Batty. He's definetly denying his insanity but a rich man of wiles? I got nothing." Ellda said as she finished the last pudding cup, "You're right on time Crane. I don't have to kill you."

"So boss What's next?" Asked a smiling girl.

The other girl sitting in what must have once been a grand chair but was now motheaten and faded. Some how though it suited the girl and her surroundings. The building she was in also was once grand somehow though the chair, the building and the girl , despite her worn purple suit and green suit all appeared like royalty.

"That's for me alone to know, dearest." The girl tutted, Secrecy was the sign of a good operation.

Can you guess Who the girl is before the inmates of Arkham do?


	5. Chapter5: The Circus freak files

Ellda Radoe/ Circus Freak

Age: 14

Name: Ellda Radoe

Acquaintances criminal: Joker (see joker), Wssc (see Wssc), Aaron (See civilians), Batman (See vigilantes) Ileana Radoe (See civilians) Alice Tetch (See Hatter Madigan)

Has only one living family member, the rest were killed in a fire which she blamed joker for. She has no knowledge of her sister's being alive and her sister thinks like wise. She was driven insane shortly after her parent's death and fell into the WSSC until she blamed the joker for her family's death. She and a girl known only as Erin deserted the WSSC and are known to have been their enemies .She then joined up with the daughter of the criminal Jervis Tetch. The two girls didn't get along because Alice Tetch didn't believe in murder and thought Ellda was "Clearly not a full cup of tea". Has been recently diagnosed with a wasting disease which is the real cause of her blindness, not as she believes the fire. Because of a repressed memory that she has no knowledge of, she has become a necrophiliac. Is extremely dangerous.

A classic sob story! Isn't that right

Little girl? A past scarred with tragedy. So you go

Insane and take up villainy? Pitiful! You supposed to do better! You're

Crazy aren't you? Still I suppose we all have our reasons for what we do. Huh

Ellda?

Yours truly,

The W crew


	6. Chapter6: Past Skullduggery

Erin looked out on Gotham from the window of her apartment. She turned away from the window, She wasn't going back to that, hurting, no killing for the thrill. As soon as she turned though her eyes fell on a faded newspaper dated nearly a year ago. On the fron page a girl with a burn scar, still covered in blood, smiled brightly as though taking a school picture instead of a mugshot. Ellda had been strange, she knew she was crazy but considered everyone insane. Her life could have been better though, maybe if her life had been different she wouldn't be so……so…..so insane.

"The doctor wanted me to give you this Ellda." Lily stated holding out a slip of paper in the recreation room.

"Is it in Braille?" Ellda asked standing on her head.

"You can't read Braille. Can you?" Lily asked confused

"Nope, and I sure as hell can't read anything else either. Give it to Crane." Ellda said dropping down and sitting on the floor Indian style.

Lily shook her head and handed Jonathan the paper and spun on her heel to leave. He scanned it for a minute, but stopped halfway through.

"Oh I'm not reading this one." He said giving it back to Ellda.

"Why not?" Ellda asked tightening her grip on the paper, feeling rather suspicious.

"I would be dead, whether or not I finished before you ate all the pudding, if I read your files." Jonathan said simply.

"Her files?" Pamela asked suddenly interested.

"What skeletons are you hiding in the closet Radoe?" Cobble pot asked looking up from a newspaper.

"I don't hide bodies anywhere." Ellda said confused.

"Oh Ellda." Pamela sighed, "He means what are your secrets?"

"I don't have any." Ellda answered way too quickly.

"Come on tell us. We're all crazy here, right every one?" Pamela said making a grab for the paper.

"Wait! Crane read the paper. I will choose my own demise. Which is why I'm going to die young before I get washed up like Jokes." Ellda said reluctantly handing the paper to Jonathan.

Jonathan took it even more reluctantly, but none the less he began to read, "

Ellda Radoe/ Circus Freak

Age: 14

Name: Ellda Radoe

Acquaintances criminal: Joker (see joker), Wssc (see Wssc), Aaron (See civilians), Batman (See vigilantes) Ileana Radoe (See civilians) Alice Tetch (See Hatter Madigan)

Has only one living family member, the rest were killed in a fire which she blamed joker for.-"

"Whaddya blame me f-"Joker interjected

"Shut up Clown."

"Has no knowledge of her sister's being alive an-"

"How is that something that you don't realize?" Oswald said

"She's alive!?"

"May I continue? And her sister thinks like wise. She was driven insane shortly after her parent's death and fell into the WSSC until she blamed the joker for her family's death. She and a girl known only as Erin deserted the WSSC and are known to have been their enemies .She then joined up with the daughter of the criminal Jervis Tetch. The two girls didn't get along because Alice Tetch didn't believe in murder and thought Ellda was "Clearly not a full cup of tea"."

"Who the hell uses that expression? Clearly not a full cup of tea? Weird family." Pamela asked

"Let crane finish!"

"Thank you, has been recently diagnosed with a wasting disease-"

"You're going to die?" Nigma asked incredulously

"Not in your lifetime old man. Keep reading." Ellda snapped

"Disease which is the real cause of her blindness, not as she believes the fire. Because of a repressed memory that she has no knowledge of, she has become necrophiliac. Is that right? Corpses? Really!?" Jonathan said forgetting about reading.

"Oh wow. Just, just wow. I don't have anything to say."

"Well at least we know if she gets us we'll be dead."

"The memory is not repressed I have a very logi-" Ellda began

"So ya do remember, Huh Freaky?" Joker said licking his lips.

"Shut the hell up clown. I am a minor and it wasn't consensual." Ellda said darkly.

"Ya remember though don't' ya?" Joker replied chuckling.

Ellda lunged at him blindly punching and kicking.

"Hey! Whad did I do Circus girl?" He said laughing

"You know full well what you did! Bastard!" Ellda screamed as the guards forced her into a straight jacket and began dragging her away, "Doctor Aaarkham!"


	7. Chapter7: Colorful

"Are you going o tell me why you tried to attack another inmate?"

"Absolutely not, Doc." Ellda said fidgeting in her straight jacket.

"Why not?" asked the doctor without any real interest, they had gone through the same script a thousand times.

"I'll tell you if I can have a phone call." Ellda said smiling as she continued to pull at the straight jacket.

"You just assaulted another inmate. I cant give you a phone call. And you're wearing a straight jacket." The doctor said looking very tired.

"Well I'm not wearing it any more." Ellda said as she finally managed to undo the jacket, "It doesn't take Houdini. Now since the guards won't realize anything for about five minutes plus a minute for them to get here. Can we talk about that phone call because it only took me two minutes to do these." Ellda said sifting through the file the doctor had brought with him and holding up pictures of what could have been people but looked more like a few dozen pounds of ground mea

The doctor nodded and swallowed, "I-I think I can arrange something."

* * *

Erin heard her phone start to ring and stood up from her sofa to answer it. She looked briefly at the caller id frowning as she did so, "Hello?"

"Colorful! I need you to help me! I'm in a serious mess!" The person on the other end shouted.

Erin looked confused for a second before remembering something, "Clowney?"

"Yes!"

"Well I'd say when you call me and the caller id says Arkham that would be a serious mess." Erin said already beginning to look for her coat and shoes.

"Either way, do you remember the time you pretended to be a psychiatrist, and then I showed you my warehouse? Take my explosives and my top hat and get me out of here. I'm the fifth window down around the right corner from the front."

"Of course, but one question, why did you call me?" Erin asked as she dumped a bunch of steak knives out and put them in the pockets of her long gray coat.

"I know one other number and I don't think 911 wants to help me. That and I trust you."

" I'll be there in an hour keep towards the front of your cell." Erin said as she put the phone on the reciever and ran down the stairs of the apartment building, thinking _I'm breaking out a psychopath who probably is going to kill some one as a result, I might well steal a new car._

* * *

"_Circus girl? What are you doing?" Pamela asked peering at Ellda who had curled up in a ball and wrapped her blanket and mattress around herself._

"_The same thing any one on my side of the cell block should do right about now." came the muffled reply._

"_Because, why?" Pamela didn't get an answer because right about then the wall behind Ellda exploded._

_Erin looked in and pretended to scold Ellda, " Clowney! You know it's bad to mix with felons!"_

"_That's never stopped me before." Ellda said unwrapping herself from the bedding, " Next time let's blow up Jokesy."_


	8. Chapter 8: Sister sweet?

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

I applaud you Ellda! Such a fantastic way to break out old friend. I hope you can find some one to read this for you, because I've been getting bored. Stealing files from Dr. Arkham just doesn't make you very feared or renowned. Killing people does, blowing things up does too. And so does having intimate relation ships with cl- oops! That's supposed to be our secret isn't it? I wonder if you know who the our is though? You and who? You should try and find out soon because if you don't stop me things will explode and people will get hurt (note to self; hurt means die) if you don't or can't. I know you don't care about most of the population of Gotham, but what about that little sister? Do you love her? Let's find out!

Sincerely,

W crew


	9. Chapter9: Without a Trace

"Ellda, do you have a sister?" Erin asked her eyes scanning her computer screen.

Ellda stopped playing with the dials on Erins' dash board for a minute while she answered," Yes, sort of, why?"

"Your computer freind is going to try and kill her." Erin answered closing her laptop, "What are we doing?"

"Ellda turned towards Erin before answering, "Can we see Alice?"

Erin shrugged, why not, "Lets go."

Erin turned the key and pulled the silver compact away from the curb. As she drove towards the old abandoned biuldings of the narrows, she checked her gun. Five shots more than enough to take down a hat crazy teenager.

"Colorful put that away please, no guns?"

"Are you crazy-"

"Yeah."

"You know what I mean, she has tried to kill us, multiple times. She tried to blow us up for-"

"Colorful I'm crazy, not stupid. I know what I'm doing. I'll explain later. You don't have to come, just no guns?"

Erin shook her head, of all the stupid ideas Ellda had come up with. Erin sighed but put the gun away. Neither of them said any thing for a while. Erin stopped the car outside an alleyway to narrow for her car to fit. Ellda heard her step out of the car and did the same. She kicked off the uncomfortable laceless shoes she had from the asylum. Ellda walked with a slight limp and Erin wondered why she hadn't noticed it before.

_Her shoes must have padding or something. _ Erin thought smiling, _I wonder how she messed up her leg._

"Colorful you should go back to the car. Alice isn't one for company." Ellda said quickly.

"What about you, you're-"

"Go back!"Ellda screeched looking angry, _"_Alice doesn't like you, so leave."

"Fine next time you call you can bet I'm not going to help." Erin said equally angry.

"I won't call again." Ellda said quietly.

Erin didn't hear as she walked back to her car some thing hit the back of her head and she saw stars. Erin tried to turn around to see who it was, but they hit her again and every thing went black.

* * *

Two hours later;

Erin wakes up and starts looking for Ellda. She is gone and Alices' home has been abandoned. Erin goes back home and resumes living for the next two years or so.

The next day;

Dr. Arkham reports Ellda's escape.

The next three months;

Gotham panics upon hearing that a notorious mass murderess has escaped. gradually this dies down as no bodies or crimes similar to Elldas' are found.

Six months:

The Radoe fire case is reopened three years after it was created. Genetic testing finally reveals that all of the Radoe's were killed in the fire. This leads to more thorough investigations of who Ellda might really be.

One year;

The letters that were hacked onto computers before, suddenly start again along with a series of murders. Police are in a frenzy to find the culprit.

Two years;

Alice has also seemed to disappear. Erin has successfully eradicated her history as a criminal thanks to her mafia ties. Nearly every one with official ties to Ellda has died or 'disappeared' like Erin.

Two years, five months, eight days.....


	10. Chapter10: New Evidence

"No further questions your honor."

" Does the defence wish to question the witness?"

"Yes your honor."

Erin shifted uncomfortably as the lawyer stood up. With her history you learned not to trust figures of authority. It wasn't really the lawyer who was making her uncomfortable though. It was the girl with the frizzy red hair who wouldn't stop staring at what ever witness was on the stand. Erin was the star witness for the prosecution and you could practically see everything Alice was thinking of. Alice didn't look at all perturbed at being here, in fact she was quite pleased. Pleased at the fact that her face grinned from every newspaper in Gotham, pleased at the horrified faces the jury made as they watched the quick movies she'd made every week. Or just pleased to have destroyed the already frail mentality of her own sister. Yes that had come out early on in the trial how long was that? 3 no 4 months ago. Alice smiled, a good day....

~!~!~!~!~!

_"Your honor we have videos recovered from the defendants' residence we believe the jury should see." the prosecutor said standing up. All of the evidence had finally been processed by the police and was now available to the court and whatever institution Alice would end up in._

_"What is the content of the videos?" The judge asked, he was already some what bored by the proceedings. It was just going through the motions now._

_"I don't believe i can really give you the full content of them unless they are shown in court."_

_"Whate- I mean certainly."_

_The prosecutor barely stifled a groan. This judge was becoming more infuriating as the trial went on. Young and so obviously inexperienced. He shook off his doubts and set up the clips on his laptop to play on the screen the balif was pulling down. The first clip began to play; Ellda lay awake tied down to a surgical bed. The camera kept jostling around for a few minutes, like the user didn't know how to use it. Then some one set it down so that it still showed Ellda but didn't move. Alice walked into view smiling in her top hat and long coat._

_"Nice to see you again, March." Alice said walking in and out of the cameras line of view._

_Ellda smiled," Silly Alice, I'm Ellda, March died when she came to visit me. Wrong place, wrong time. You know I rather thought you were Haley."_

_"March, don't change the subject! I can __see the red hair a your roots, your friend Ellda never had red hair. We had red hair. don't you remeber your dear twin sister?" Alice kept moving, she acted like she expected the answers to her questions, like it was all the script to some elaborate game. And to her, it was. Ellda's fingers were moving agitatedly, as though to grab something. she didn't answer though, "March, what happened to you on your eighth birthday? Our step father did something right?"_

_"Jack burned my arm on the stove, no reason. " Ellda said quickly as though she didn't believe that it was true._

_"Why don't you just tell me everything up to when that rich preppy friend of yours died." _

_Ellda, no ,she remembered, March started talking and for the next twenty minutes or so she didn't stop. Eleven years was a lot of time to remember. A lot of time to pretend nothing was wrong. Ellda had tried so hard to forget when she got shot by her stepfather and shattered her leg bone, when he had broken her ribs, held her arm down on the stove, burned her with this or that. She had hated the burns worst. She had been terrified when Ellda had wanted to strike the matches, and so near all the flammable things, gasoline and aerosol cans and paint. She had wanted more to fit in. So Ellda made her little controlled fire and the garage had gone up in flames first then the house. Ellda died right away when the aerosol can went up. March had been farther away from the fire, scared of it. Every thing had been burning and she couldn't breathe for the smoke. She just wanted to get out, then the thought of Ellda's sweet little sister asleep in her crib, she wouldn't be able to run. So she ran to find her, sweet Lilia innocent child, she mustn't die too. She found her and grabbed her, covering the baby with her own body as she ran through the flames to get out. That had been the last color she had seen. Fire. The last thing she saw she was terrified of. _

_Alice smiled at the camera, then she turned back to her sister, "I'll kill you eventually. I'll burn you to death, because every one always had time for you and never enough for me."_

_The first clip ended and the rest played after it, Alice was bored now though and stopped looking. She knew what happened anyway. All the ones after where her and the little girl she had taken in, the little girl March had saved, hurting March, sowing shut her eyes and burning. Alice knew all of what happened she didn't care to see it from the camera's view, she watched the judge and jurors instead. Each and every on getting paler and glancing at her after a partcilarly horrible one. Later that day the judge decided he couldn't handle the case and it was given to a more expiereinced judge. Alice knew she would never get off innocent now, maybe she could go to Arkham though. Maybe her dad would have enough time for her. And she could try again at killing March. March , March...._


	11. Chapter11: Mother Mine

The days court session ended and prosecutor Anthony Crawford was quite nearly at his wits end. This trial wasn't going well. That Alice Tetch had committed a crime was not at question, rather what crime she had committed. It was so obviously attempted murder he wanted to go into a fit whenever the defense came up with some half-baked excuse that the jury was so obviously accepting. The fact of it was that the jury didn't want to admit that a fourteen year old girl was capable of this. Or that she had so easily convinced a six year old to do such horrible thing, to a girl that had apparently saved her life nonetheless. Not to mention at least half of the jury had family members Ellda had killed, they'd probably say it was some sort of violent batman- esque vigilante crime. Then Ellda ,it was hard not to think of her as that after six years, well she was in shock or something of the sort because she hadn't spoken in the past year and a half. That is if you figured that she didn't talk outside of the 'movies' Alice had made, in which she had stopped talking after the first year. At first he had visited the asylum almost daily in the hopes she would be able to be a witness for the prosecution. It hadn't really taken all that long for him to be unerved by the blank eyes and disfigured look she had gained over the past two years. Anthony took out his cell phone and picked out a number he sill had on speed dial from when he had prosecuted Ellda herself.

"Dr. Arkham, we really need her to start talking. That jury is going to give Alice a slap on the wrist and chalk it up to vigilantism. We don't need anymore 'Batmans'." Anthony pushed the rest of his papers into his brief case and started on his way out of the court room, "I understand that she doesn't want to but would it be better for her sister to be Gotham's newest Hero?"

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

"Mr. Crawford we are doing the best we can, You do realize she's been tortured for two_ years_?" Jeremiah said somewhat annoyed, these lawyer types were always tiring, " Mr. Crawford unless you have a better idea, then please stop calling."

Jeremiah put the phone back on the receiver, Crawford was really starting to be a nuisance he made a very good lawyer, but not much else. The phone started ringing again and Jeremiah answered.

"Mr. Crawford if you call again I will disconnect the phone."

"Calm down Doc, I'm not the lawyer. In fact I'm getting rather sick of him too. It's just Erin 'kay? I want to come and visit Clowney."

Jeremiah sighed straight from one annoying character to the other, "You do realize she isn't talking? I just spent several minutes explaining this to Crawford."

"Arkham just tell the guard to let me in alright?"

"She won't talk to any one." Jeremiah said hanging up, but calling the guard at the gates nonetheless.

A few minutes later Erin walked over to Lily's desk. The secetary looked up briefly and then continued typing.

"Visiting hours are over." Lily said when Erin didn't leave.

"You must be flowers? You set up pretty good firewalls in your system."

"You must be Erin since she mysteriously disappeared from our systems last year."

Erin smiled, "Touche, I need to talk with Ellda."

"Are you from a newspaper, tv show, radical group, or assassination attempt?"

"What?! No That's a stupid question. If I was I would still say no! You people have issues here huh?"

"You have no idea, go on in. She's the third cell on the left. You want the keys or should I open the door?"

Erin smiled and took a key off a slot behind Lilia's desk, "I can handle it."

Erin walked down the Cell block recognizing some of the inmates. Joker leering out from between the bars of his door, Pamela Isley talking with a flower bush, And then Ellda just staring blankly, unfocused and silent. Scars prominent on her teenage features. Erin forgot sometimes that she really wasn't all that old, just sixteen now.

"How you feelin' Clowney? You got a lot of people who care about you now. You remember Crawfish? He's prosecuting Alice, it's funny, really seeing him get all defensive of you. I think the jury doesn't want t put her in prison though. She didn't kill any one so woop- de- do she might just be a new Batman. Like we don't have enough vigilantes in this town." Erin said, valiantly carrying on the conversation.

Ellda smiled at Crawfish, not beaming and delerious almost normally in fact. That is if her lips didn't have the remenants of seams that had been taken out only a few months ago. Erin smiled back and began to talk again, not noticing that Ellda wasn't paying attention.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

"And in other news the Tetch trial continues to drag on with Alice accumulating charges and March still in shock. More tonight at eleven, now to you Jackie for the stocks."

"Thank you Ku-"

Laine reached over and switched the Tv off.

"Hey I was watching that!"

"Tim, you don't even like the stocks." Laine snapped back, as she go up from the couch.

"Yeah but my game is on." Jack said reaching for the remote," Where are you going?"

Laine walked out of the living room for a few minutes then came back with her coat and purse, "Well, first I'm going to get Dodge from school, then I'm going to do what I should have done half a year ago and visit my daughter, then I'm going to do something I should have done thirteen years ago."

"What's that?" Jack asked standing up.

"I'm going to get a divorce. You don't need to worry about custody, the girls aren't yours. You already knew that though. Here's a news flash though, neither is Dodge." Laine turned on her heel and began to walk out of the house, her shoes clicking on the tile of the hallway.

" Why? Wait, Laine." Jack ran and grabbed Laine's arm as she was walking out of the door, "What have I ever done to you? What did I do to anyone?"

Laine pulled her arm away and turned, her face fuming, "Oh, What did you do? Don't act like I can't see, I saw every single time. Did you think that i would be too tired from work that I wouldn't see the bruises? The limps when March and Alice tried to hide the broken bones? Of course I can't see now when Dodge has a bloody nose. I didn't want it to be real and I decided not to do any thing. And Look what that did to my little girls."

Jack pulled back, shrunk a bit, not angry but a bit surprised, "Okay, Okay. Laine I- I'm sorry. You weren't there I got carried away. They were belligerent and rude and, I got carried away. I was angry and Dodge too, they all just wanted to cause such trouble. Look I'll drive you and we'll just, see were it goes? I just want to drive you, okay?"

Laine didn't feel at all appeased," You may drive, For one reason and one reason only. So that you can sign the divorce papers."


	12. Chapter12: Regress

"Where are we going?"

Laine looked backed from the front passenger seat, " Arkham Asylum."

"Why? If it''s because of what that kid told my teacher I swea-," Dodge started quickly before Laine cut him off.

"We're visiting your sister, and I've taken care of what Mrs. Reynolds thinks happened."Laine said tensely, shooting a look towards Jack.

"Oh well then, wait, I have a sister?"

"Long story, while we're on the subject, you have two sisters and frankly... frankly... well you'll figure out the rest later." Laine said, this wasn't something she'd ever thought of telling Dodge, but she couldn't very well keep it from him now.

Dodge sighed, this was definitely not what he had expected when his parents had picked him up from school. He thought of when he had to do a family tree in the fifth grade, that was obviously incomplete now. And at least on of his sisters was in Arkham. He'd thought that his family was messed up before but now, talk about dysfunctional.

"Dodge, understand that she won't look... normal. She can't see you but she will be able to hear you so don't say any thing, hurtful please. She might not talk, and she's had violent tendencies before." Laine added choosing her words carefully.

"Violent? Murderous more like." Jack scoffed earning him another look from Laine.

"Who is she?" Dodge asked curiously, this sister was starting to seem quite interesting.

"Just wait until we get there alright?"

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Erin had noticed that Ellda wasn't looking at her anymore, it didn't bother her, Ellda was never one for eye contact. Sometimes she had kept it knowing that others would think she wasn't paying attention if she didn't, or maybe it was just habit. Erin didn't care much she continued to babble to Ellda from where she was sitting next to her on the bed. For a while that was the only sound other than Lily clicking away at the keys of her computer and the occasional mutterings of the other inmates. Ellda stood up suddenly and Erin realized she hadn't been listening, at least not to what she had been saying. Ellda stood just inside the door to her cell even though it was open, she went no farther than she'd have been able to if the door had been closed. A minute later Erin heard what Ellda had been listening to. The click of hard bottomed platforms, the squeak of sneakers, the soft thudding sound of and old pair of leather shoes. Erin didn't know all of that she could just hear some body coming, It was Ellda who could tell all of that, when the people started talking she would know who the people were or at least what part of gotham they were from. People really were different all over, most people just couldn't tell. Erin couldn't hear the people speak but Ellda did and she obviously recognized them.

Ellda's face lit up and she walked a few steps out of the cell, slowly at first them she turned and walked faster down the hallway. Erin followed her but she couldn't understand why she looked so happy and yet she was walking away from the where the people would be. She got her answer quick enough when Ellda stopped in front of a cell, smiling ecstatically. The inmate looked up at her a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, and the same type of frizzy red hair Alice had.

"You're March, aren't you Circus?" He asked

"Mommy, came to visit, and Jack. He isn't very nice. Mommy married him when you got in trouble and had to come here. She brought Dodge, he's my little brother. Mom pretended he was Jacks, but he had red hair, like us and Alice. Jack has brown hair, and mom is blond and red." Ellda muttered mindlessly, "I yelled at you before, I'm sorry."

Erin was starting to worry, not that here would have been anything wrong with a normal sixteen year old apologizing to her father. Ellda was about as far from normal as you get though. She didn't apologize without meaning it sarcastically or killing you. Ellda didn't talk about her family to any one, it as the epitome of forbidden territory. Erin remembered how she had pressed the matter once, she still had the scar. Above all This just didn't feel right. The way she was talking, the vocabulary. She wasn't talking like a sixteen year old or even a fourteen year old, more like a five or ten year old. Ellda may have behaved that way at times but she spoke well for a girl who hadn't gone to school since she'd been ten. erin turned and walked back up the hallway past A group of three people, past Lily's desk and through a door into Dr. Arkham's office.

"Something is wrong with her." Erin blurted

"I think that would be obvious-"

"Not that, she's talking but how she's talking. Ellda is using words like 'Mommy', and she called her stepfather 'not very nice', and 'when you got in trouble'. She used to speak like... Well Like a crazy murdering fourteen year old. Now she's talking like a grade schooler."

"When did she start talking?"

"She heard people coming and she walked out of her cell and started talking to Jervis Tetch."

"I should have thought to ask her mother to come in myself.... either way, she's regressed. It happens sometimes after trauma. The mind will go to a place where it feels safe, maybe a memory or a story. It helps block out reality when reality becomes to much. Ellda went back to an age that she felt safe at. Her mother must have been very prevelent at the age she chose for her coming to be able to make her talk."

"Yeah, that's nice, how do we fix it?"

"We can't do anything, she just needs to realize that she's doesn't need to stay in this mindset. She has to feel safe, and then she'll snap back into her normal mindset and when she feels threatened she will react like you remember her doing. Unless she is subjected to the amount of trauma she has expeirenced. for the past two years."

"So can't do anything?"

"Technically I can't say that she's a danger to society so she could go home. Her mother will want to take her but She'll have bad memories of that house from her step father. The ware house she used to live in, That time was one of the better times of her life, even i f she was living in denial."

"You want me to take her back there? You ever seen the place? Being blind and all she couldn't keep very could care of it." Erin lowered her voice, "Do you have any idea what she ate? She had a refrigerater full of...... of people!"

"None the less she was secure and happy which is how she needs to feel."

Erin shook her head and turned on her heel to go out the door but stopped as Jeremiah added something.

"Ellda was happiest killing, I've seen hours of videos of it. It was almost like watching the relief a smoker has when they breath nicotine. She's addicted to the adrenaline of death, Probably ever since she saw her best freind die."

Erin looked at him curiously, "Are you telling me to encourage her to kill people?"

"You have to understand that my job is to do whatever I can to make the people in here as sane as possible. Ellda is currently less violent what most people would prefer her to stay, but this could as far from sane as she's ever been. The people outside of this biulding don't care whether these people are sane. I've seen children who have some of the most serious mental diseases, bullied and terrorized by other children to the piont where there is no chance of them being able to rehabilitate. Those children will stay here for the rest of thier lives because they've become extremely violent in order to defend themselves the only way they know how. I don't feel any attachment to any of the people outside of this biulding for that reason. I didn't tell you to do any thing except whatever it takes to make your freind better." Jeremiah answered bitterly.

Erin smiled halfheartedly as she walked out of the office, "You should be locked up here too you know. I'll take care of Ellda, and you need to do some backround on that receptionist. You wouldn't believe what I found when I was taking myself out of your system."

Erin walked back the way she had come checking her watch as she did so, she had only been talking with Dr. Arkham for ten minutes. She looked up towards Ellda and her family. Ellda was talking about something to the boy Erin had seen earlier in the hallway. The strawberry blonde woman was speaking quietly with Jervis Tetch. A brownhaired man was trying to look tough and watch everyone at the same time. Erin sighed, what she did for friendship.

"Ellda, Shrink says you don't have to stay here any more. You wanna go home?" Erin asked quietly enough not to sound commanding but just loud enough for the woman, Ellda's mother she guessed, to hear.

"There was this girl who couldn't go outside because- What? My house? Let's go, Let's go, Let's go!" Ellda said abruptly breaking off her conversation with the boy and running towards Erin.

The woman stood up immeadietly, "If March goes home it's going to be with me. And just who do you think you are?"

"Well, I think I'm Erin the girl who phone number is the only one your daughter knows, who broke her out of this place at least twice, and above all I'm her best friend. You can bring up her housing with Dr. Arkham, I already have his permission." Ellda ran over and grabbed Erins hand, Erin realized how childish the gesture was coming from a sixteen year old who was almost as tall as her.

"Well I'm her mother and-" Erin cut Laine off.

"And you let your husband beat her senseless until she was ten. Then you let him do the same to her sister and brother until her sister snapped and started hurting Ellda. I'm trying to undo all of your mistakes." Erin said calmly.

"Mommy , I want to go with Erin to my house." Ellda whispered.

Laine closed her mouth, shocked," March, I want you back, you've got a family a brother and me. Please..."

"But Mom, I'll come back someday. Just a little while please?" Ellda asked pouting.

Laine choked, her eyes were getting watery, "If you don't take good care of her I swear I'll...."

Erin didn't answere because Ellda yelped as some one grabbed her braid and pulled it back into his cell. Laine yelled, Dodge ran forward, and Erin pulled a pistol out of her handbag and shot the man in the leg. Ellda ran to the other side of the hallway where Pamela Isley did her best to calm her down through the bars.

"You idiot clown! Watch youself around Circus. We might not know exactly what you did to her but I have a good idea. You'd be in worse trouble for something like that at Black wall, people like you die over there. I might not care about her as much as some people do, but she's a kid and a goddamned messed up one. If you do anything to her I will personally ask her to shoot you somewhere a little more sensitive." Pamela rolled her eyes at the surprised looks from Erin and Laine, "She grows on you when she's so quiet."

"She just grows on you period." Erin muttered, before turning to Joker's not so quiet cursing, "Shut up, you got yourself in this mess. Your just unlucky that I like hollow point bullets. It shattered in your leg so that 'll take some time to fix up. Come on Clowney, Let's get you home. And um thanks Ivy."

Erin walked out of Arkham, Ellda right behind had a very bad sense of De ja vu as she got in her car and she and Ellda drove to the narrows. Erin got out of the car first and she looked up at the dilapidated old ware house. They walked inside, things were strewn every were and several gymnast bars rose up above the boxes of knives and clothes below.

Ellda smiled, "Home sweet home. "


	13. Chapter13: Quality Time

"El holdlda do you remember when you painted on the wall after you killed that one guy right before we met?" Erin asked Ellda as she dug through boxes in the ware house, she hadn't said what she was looking for yet.

Ellda laughed, " He was easy, Him and his friends were all smoky. He had a nice leather jacket, and a necklace, little smooth beads, circles and squares. His jacket is over there, if you want it."

Erin smiled, at least Ellda wasn't having memory problems. That day was nearly four years ago, Erin didn't even remember the necklace. Ellda giggled and pulled what she had been looking for out of a box. A black mask with red swirls and a black ribbin to tie it on. Ellda ran over to another box and pulled out a somewhat frayed looking black top hat with a thin red ribbon. Several boxes later Elllda had found every peice of her red and black frock coat out fit again. Ellda had knocked over a few jars of a thick red liquid which was now emanating a heavy metalic smell. Erin wrinkled her nose, killing people was fine but keeping thier blood? That was just a little to far for her. But even Ellda had started to lok a little sickened by the ever spreading puddles. She'd been the one who collected it so why would it bother her? If any thing she probably had planned to eat the stuff. Erin sighed, it would definitly be beneficial for her to kill someone. Erin looked around quickly, the warehouse was empty.

"Where are ya, clowney?" Erin called turning around several times on the spot.

"Boo!"

Erin turned around again, starting to feel dizzy, and almost knocked into Ellda. She was anging upside down from one of the gymnast bars in her old costume, she looked exactly like her old self save for about four inches of bright orange hair growing out at her roots.

"How'd you do that without me seein'?"

"My tricks are my secret, Colorful. If I told you They wouldn't be _my_ tricks." Ellda said matter-of-factly as she got down from the bar.

"Okay, so what do you want to do?"

"Bout' what?" Ellda asked confused.

"Just for fun, you know."

"Oh... I want to eat pudding." Ellda said simply.

Erin shook her head, " No, I mean you don't even feel a little bit like killing some one? Wouldn't you rather eat a person or something instead?"

"I don't think I'm, supposed to eat people."

"So? Why do you care?"

"I dunno. I have a question."

"Yes ,Clowney?"

"My baby brother, Dodge, I told him to follow us here so I could show him where I used to live. He's over in that corner and he said he wouldn't come out until you left, I can't remember my question now but it had something to do with that."

"You weren't supposed to tell her!" Dodge yelled from a box about twenty feet away, "And I'm not a baby!"

"Well how am I supposed to know that you still don't look like one?" Ellda said defensively.

"Wait, how did he get here?" Erin asked somewhat confused by this sudden turn of events.

"I snuck out through a window in a bathroom and I paid a cabby fifty bucks to drive like all hell was loose."Dodge said proudly, "And every one in the narrows apparently knows where March lives."

"Okay, what is it with your family are you all crazy?" Erin grimaced, "No, don't answer that. I already know the answer."

"Dodge is the most sane out of all of us, Alice is the least sane. You probably did know that though."

"Okay, I'm, going to ask you again, What do you want to do today, Clowney?"

"I want to show Dodge Every were I used to go." Ellda said excitedly.

"Okay this is good, were making some headway here. You want to go by yourself?" Erin asked and Ellda nodded, "I'll wait here then."

"Didn't you promise mom you'd take care of her?" Dodge asked as Ellda ran around the room grabbing knives and guns.

"Your sister can take care of herself, she did it for four years. I mean look at her. Her idea of good security is to live with enough guns to take over a pretty good sized country. It worked too. It stopped working the one time she decided not to bring a gun. She thought maybe her sister was in danger and she didn't want her to get hurt. She learned she won't make that mistake again, you can bet she loves you a lot more than Alice and it looks like she just picked up a .22. She'll be fine and so will you." Erin answered.

"Dodge you need a mask and stuff and I need a different one. Don't want to be reconized." Ellda said suddenly, dropping all of the weapons she was holding and beginning to dig through boxes of clothes again.

" I can understand you ,but why do I need a mask?"

" You've been on TV too you know. Just about every time they say Alice's name they show our pictures." Ellda said as she rummaged through boxes," How about this?"

Ellda held up a mask made from crudely welded together pieces of metal. There was a grate across the mouth and a see through metal net over the eyes. It reminded Dodge of a fencing mask for some reason.

"It's cool, but what are you going to wear?"

"Don't worry, I got lots of outfits."

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

"You two are matching! that is so cute, where's my iphone, I need to take a picture." Erin laughed.

"Okay forget it, I don't want to do this." Dodge said trying to walk away.

Ellda grabbed his arm, "Don't worry, she'd say that no matter what. We look fine."

"How do you know! You're blind!"

"And I can kill a man with a paper clip, lets go." Ellda said starting to walk out the door of her ware house.

Ellda sarted running pulling, Dodge with her, as soon as she got out of Erins view.

"Where are we going?" Dodge asked, hoping that the jumpsuit and belt full of knives he was wearing didn't look bad.

"Where I first killed someone, "Ellda replied, the bells on the points of her dress jingling as she ran.

Dodge thought that even if his outfit wasn't ludicrous, Ellda's was. She was wearing a sleeveless mideval style jesters dress with gold colored bells and bows with long ribbons all over it. She had gloves with a diamond pattern in gold glitter that went almost all the way up her arms and matching tight. and like Erin had said she was also wearing a mask made of metal, like his, in a bronze color.

"How long ago did you kill this person?"

"F- I mean six, years."

"You can remeber that long ago?"

"Yeah, can't you?"

"Hell no or I wouldn't have failed my last test."

"That's short term memory, my short term is like non-existent. Like I have no idea who was in the cell next to me at Arkham, but next week I could tell you the whole row, both of them."

Ellda stopped suddenly, in the middle of an alley way that looked like every other one they had passed. She heard a soft click behind her, to quiet for dodge to hear.

"Dodge, Turn around very slowly and tell me what you see. Cause there's something, Like this far away from the back of my head." Ellda siad holding her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.

"D-d-don't move, I-i-I'll shoot you. Girl knows I've got the gun." Ellda heard the shaky voice behind her nd the gun grazed her neck, his hands were shaking, "Give me your money and any credit cards and cellphones."

"You've been following us for three minutes trying to get the nerve to talk to us, you won't shoot me." Ellda replied calmly.

"Dude we don't even have any money, we aren't rich kids. How many of thosee do you find in the narrows?"Dodge asked, he turned around quickly to look at the man and found a small hand pistol in front of his nose.

"I s-said not to move K-kid."

"Get the gun away from him." Ellda said as she heard the man pull back his gun.

"Gotta, t-t-teach both a lesson, didn't listen to me"

"March, uh, March." Dodge breath was coming in short spurts, not enough to form a sentence, he'd never faced his mortality, "The, gun, Ellda."

Ellda spun and lept at the man, Dodge thought of a mouse and cat. He realized that was irrational in the next second, how many mice carry pistols? The next second he thought to help Ellda, and he realized she had some how taken one of his knives. Another second and he ran to help her, but not before the gun went off.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

I am terribly sorry Toffeerose, I neglected to mention that Erin is not my character. I did not intend to take any credit for her, it just slipped my mind.


	14. Chapter14: Consequences

Blood was dripping onto the pavement. Ellda froze and Dodge was sure she was dead. Until he saw where he blood as coming from. Ellda seemed transfixed by the pain coming from the wound in her arm. The man who had shot her seemed sickened though.

Ellda glanced at him and grabbed for the knife she had dropped, " You Didn't kill me. Point-blank and all I feel is pain. I shouldn't feel anything!"

Dodge realized Ellda was angry at the man for not killing. Or rather not killing her when she knew any one _could _have.

"Ellda stop, what are you-" Dodge was cut off by a spurt of blood that caught him in the face.

Ellda stood up as Dodge spat blood from his mouth. Ellda tried her best to wipe the blood off her clothes.

She considered taking the body home with her, on the off chance that her refrigerator still worked. Instead she decided to simply take his gun. She heard cloth flapping in the wind, a sound some might have mistaken for a flag. Ellda had lived here before though, patriotism was scarce in the narrows.

"Is it night or day?" She asked suddenly more alert.

"Night.", Dodge answered quickly.

"We best be goin then, or we'll get unwanted company." Dropping her voice to a whisper she added, "Don't talk unless you absolutely have to and go along with whatever I say. Most importantly do what I tell you to do."

Dodge opened his mouth then closed it and nodded,Ellda giggled.

"I'm Song, and you're Silence. Let's play up the matching costumes shall we?" Ellda was beaming, "Run."

It took dodge a moment to remember Ellda's rules. Do what she tells you. So for the second time that night, the two of them ran through alleyways. And for the second time Ellda could hear someone following them.

"Keep running. Twenty paces turn right, fifty paces left door. Don't tell Colorful, well maybe tell Colorful." Ellda whispered quickly before she stopped and turned down a different alleyway," Hello, you shouldn't be out late. Lots of...unusual people out."

"I think I can handle it." Ellda felt someone grab her by the arms and lift her off the ground.

"Gaah, you, are, pushing, a, bullet, in, my goddamn arm! Put me down, flying rat" Ellda yelled squirming and trying to kick the black metal, "Frankly you're being a bit forward for me, maybe we should start with names."

"I don't think you're funny, you just killed a man."

"No Duh? He shot me, self defence I'm justified. Now would you please remove your thumb from my wound? Like I said, THERE'S A BULLET IN IT!" Ellda screamed and Batman dropped her," Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Nice try, I don't think so. People don't wear a mask and kill in self defence. Who are you?"

"Questions, questions, questions, I'm Song. I know you though. My friend, Alice, she just wouldn't shut up about you, rambling on and on. She figured you out pretty fast. Even Jokesy couldn't do what she did. Jokes, he never shut up about it either. How he almost took off the mask, how you just wouldn't kill him. those two loved to talk."

Batman semed disturbed, what did this kid mean? Found him out? Not possible, he'd been too careful. Hadn't he?

"No more games! Who was your friend? And what is your real name?"

"I told you! I'm Song, and he is Silence. I don't play games though, I don't like them. Can I go? Cause I really need to take this bullet out, unless you intend to Mr. Wayne."

Ellda felt herself be slammed against a wall a hand tightening around her throat," Who are you?"

Ellda made a choking sort of laugh, as if to question how she would speak without breathing. Then she felt fingers prying at the edges of her mask. Desperate, she lashed out with the little air left in her lungs. Frenzied and irrational thoughts flashed through her mind. No one could take off her mask, no one ever had. Unless she'd wanted them to. They couldn't take it off without her say so...coud they?

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Jeremiah looked quickly, over the short paper he had typed. He really didn't need to make it and he knew that. It was just better to everything on file, or at least that's what he had always believed. He realized he might have to change that after this fiasco. Back to the paper however. No one else would request to see it, Dr. Arkham was the highest authority at the asylum, what he said went. no one would have questioned this one anyway. He pressed the enter button and the paper was added to a file which was subsequently locked and compresed. He doubted he'd ever need it again. The subject of the file would certainly never work there again. Jeremiah stood and walked out of his office and came to stand in front of Lily's desk looking at her coldly.

"Something you need Doctor?"

"No, but you need a new job, you're fired"

Lily loked up shocked, "Why? What did I do?"

"You stole my files and sold them to a psychopath, then you gave her a way to get the sister she hated."

Lily looked as though she might deny it for a minute then her face contorted in anger, "She deserved what she got! That...That freak killed my father, after that my mother had a stroke. I had to pay for the hospital bills, and I've got a kid. I needed the money, and I get this email with little teacups and animated rabbits. This girl is offering me hundreds for this information. You can report me if you want, I have no regrets."

"You were really close with that story, but you don't have children and your parents live in California." Jeremiah said coolly observing Lily's dismayed face, " March killed your fiancee, you've wanted children, and your mother is in a California resting home with your father."

"Whatever,... all those files. She'd have gotten them another way. Her sister was a freak and you know it." Lily spat grabbing a few things off her desk and throwing them in her bag before walking out in a huff.

Jeremiah shook his head. People have no idea what the true consequences of their actions are. Lily had destroyed a girl with a few keystrokes, and for all he knew he had made he even more dangerous with a single conversation. What other consequences were bieng set in motion? Jeremiah wondered for a moment as he walked back to his office. Then it was back to work, after all he needed a new secretary.


	15. Chapter15: Promises and Jaberwocks

Ellda felt cold night air seeping throught the gap between her face and the mask. Knowing that she couldn't do anything, not while she was choking. Wanting to stop it. He'd see her scar, and know who she was. No jury would trust her after she'd just killed another man. Alice would never go to prison or Arkham. Then her mind went back yo her air supply, she was opening her mouth but no air would come in. There was air on her face though...air...

" You do realize you're killing her?"

Ellda's feet hit the ground and crumpled, as she gasped for air. Her mask rattled on the ground and she was covering her face with her hands. Ellda dimly realized that Erin had probably just saved her life.

"I think the Bat wanted to kill me. Keep his secrets...secrets. Everyone is corruptible... most of us are already corrupted."

"You never know when to shut your big mouth do you? I'm going to spend the rest of my life saving your head."

"Enough who are you?"

"I've told you twice already, and you wanna know something? You need to take an anger management class. Fyi, It is not polite to choke teenagers who just happen to know who the hell you are."

"Ellda you can't see, you are somewhat handless and you are mouthing off to someone twice your size. What the hell happened to your common sense?"

"No! Stupid, stupid , stupid! You weren't supposed to tell him! I need to go to court and I need to seem stable! Killing people isn't stable!" Ellda said jumping up and pressing her hands against the sides of her head in anger.

Erin winced a bit at the sight of her face. It was easy to forget what she looked like now and remember what she had looked like before. The scars would never cease to be disturbing.

"Ellda... you're Circus Freak-

"No, duh!... Stupid rodent."

"You're sick-

"I get that a lot I'm starting to think it's a compliment."

"You're going back to Arkham."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Ellda don't be stupid of course he is, he needs a reason to cart you off. Put the murderer behind bars and her sister goes free. I've met tht girl, she has a serious taking over the world issue."

"I'll make you a deal?" Ellda offered quickly as she heard a pair of hand cuffs being opened.

"I don't need any one killed." Batman answered snapping the cuffs on Ellda after a minute of her protests.

"No, not that. I know who you are, and you know what I did tonight. I Want Alice to get Blackwall, for life. You'll keep quiet until after the trial, I won't kill during that time and I won't ever tell about Mr. Wayne's night job." Ellda bargained looking up hopefully.

"Wait, seriously? Bruce Wayne? That actually kinda funny. I mean, Playboy, billionaire, and a flying rat. This is worthy of like a movie or something." Erin said chuckling a bit.

"Come on, please? Or else I'll put it on my facebook, I swear, in real life I'm a freak, online half of Gotham is on my friends list. Where is the logic in that?" Ellda realized she was babbling trying to hide that she was nervous, "You'll get me and my sister, or just me. Your choice."

"I'm going to be watching you. If you do anything remotely suspicious, I will not hesitate to settle for letting your sister go. Do you understand?"

"Yeees, You don't need to treat me like I'm three. The doctor said I have an emotional age of at least eight." Ellda siad defensivley as the handcuffs where taken off.

"He's gone, Let's get you fixed up. Doesn't that hurt?"

"What? Oh, yeah, no well it went numb about three minutes ago sooo...it probably does hurt, i just don't feel it. That didn't make as much sense as I wanted it to." Ellda said thoughtfully.

Erin shook her head and started to pull Ellda back to the warehouse, at least this wouldn't be the first time Ellda had need to get a bullet out of her. The last time it had been her leg, Erin had left a first aid kit at the warehouse then anticipating that it would be needed. Now the only problem was finding it...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Alice lay back on the bench in County. All alone in cell. There were people all around her though. They got boring though, such simple minds, soft and malleable. So easy to manipulate. Lilia had been a challenge at first, having been told stories of bieng saved from the fire by March. Lilia had been breakable though, she'd tortured her saviour nearly to death so many times. Every single one of them on tape. Then there was March herself, she'd chipped a bit on the first day. Such a resileint mind though, she'd put her mentality back together in a matter of hours. March was a real challenge. Her mind was really amazing, absorbing trauma and pain. Every time she broke she just fine in a matter of days. Until the end when she finnaly broke for good. She went silent and just screamed through lips sewn shut. Never even tried to talk. Alice realized then what she should have done since the beginning. Marchs worst fear, the last thing she had seen. Fire had destroyed a girl who had been poisone andscarred and beaten. Simple fire. That was all she had wanted, to break her dear sister. Alice had never wanted to kill only break. And of course someone new to brag about her knowledge to. Figuring out who the bat was. It had been simple really who had te funds, the time, and the facilities. That plus some face recognition software on her computer. The only reason no one else had found out, was because they haddn't really looked. Gotham didn't want to know really. Alice did though, so Alice knew.

Staring up at the cracked ceiling Alice knew who's mind she want to break next, Some one who would be even more of a challenge than March had been.

She whispered to herself a song she'd read once, " And has thou slain the Batterwock?

O come to my arms my beamish girl

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

She chortled in her joy."

Then she closed her eyes and dreamt of fire and wonderland. Maybe she was going crazy, but how was that different than the rest of the city?


	16. Chapter16: Sweet Rabbit

Three Months Later...

_I'm watching you sweet rabbit, it seems you still haven't broke._I thought sitting in my cell, watching The March Hare betray me. Me of all people. I am the hatter and without me there is no Wonderland. Wonderland is my city...but wonderland isn't it's name...It is still my city. The subjects of Wonderland believe they are protected by the batterwocky beast, or perhaps no longer they believe that... no matter, They aren't safe! They are the pawns on my chessboard, mine to control and twist. (Note to self; why is a raven like a writing desk? Poe wrote on both or they both have inky quills, I must decide...) Twisting the commoners is later though, Now I must scare the Hare into breaking for truly and always. I was told this would happen, and I have a plan. I remembered the plan yesterday, I'll remember it tomorrow, so why can't I remember it today? (Ps note; Must kill talking plant, Don't need her now that she's been fired and better one will come along perhaps is coming along perhaps...also, If I keep having to give notes to myself I will run out of mental post-its, I must find more.)

Every one else has started complaining that liquid is dripping from the ceiling. What doth it be? Upkelchan? I'm growing no bigger. Pishalver? not smaller either. Water then? It tastes dastardly though. Tea then? Oh but there's no sugar. More like ...gasoline! I remember now! I payed that silly fat old Tweedledum janitor to help scare The Hare with the flames of jabberwocky. That explains why I wanted a key from him. Now where'd I put it... Behind the looking glass box that I'm looking at the hare through...no. Where, o where, in my hair perhaps? No but maybe...In the key slot where I put it an hour ago, yes of course. I Looked up quickly, smelling smoke before the ceiling burst into flames. Then reason kicked in(PPs note; I was sure I'd used up all my reason, thought I'd have to go steal more... sometimes I love being wrong.) and I turned the key and ran out leaving the rest stuck in their cells to burn. (PPPPPPPs note; I'm not sure that's quite right to many P's maybe, either way, People burning smells surprisingly like barbecue. Hah! I think perhaps I've gone mad as a hare...well that's not right either... but I'm running out of space on this post-it.)

"Look! The Tetch kid! Stop her!"A fat old guard.

"Oh god How did she get out? What about the other criminals?" A too skinny lady.

So many people have so much to say to me, but I've no time to autograph anything. They're stark ravin' mad if they haven't realized why. The buildings on fire fair people, and Fairfarren to all who don't know yet. I have one person to see before I go. I grab the arm of a middle schooler, who was just there for a field trip. He's holding a digital camera, which is now my digital camera. I let go and he keeps running. One person at least knows there's fire. I know, I don't care. Another kid is going for a fire alarm. It won't work, Tweedledum cut the alarm. Like I told him to, what's the fun if the building won't burn down all the way? I'm not out of breath, not nearly. But I stop. I'm where I want to be. People are already vacated from the court room which is much more gasoline soaked than others, like I wanted, of course. I turn on the camera's video. Another video like the ones the prosecutor so loved.

"I suppose all this fire must be terrifying you sweet rabbit. but you cannot go down your hole to hide from this prairie fire. come out march hare and jion me for one more tea party."I say giving the camera a quick sweep of the burning court room.

A girl looking ever so small huddled in a corner, smaller even than she was two years ago, "Alice please, please, please. Stop it. Please make it go away. I can't... I can't breathe."

"Oh, sweet rabbit, I'm no Alice, Just a hatter. And there's so little smoke in the air, naught but a warm breeze really. Tea then? Sugar? Cream?" I walk over to her and parts of the ceiling start falling in a little to close for her comfort. I knew it was fear that kept her from breathing, But why end the party. For time is standings still since I tried to kill it. We've as long as I like.

" Hatter...I...can't... breathe...It...burns... and...my eyes...They'll hurt...so bad...sobad."

"Oh but that disease you have made you blind long before any fire." She's scared,trying to get away from what she can't see.

"I'm...not..sick?...please...help me." Her voice isn't even a voice any more a whisper or a whimper?

"Well my mistake then I got bored and I did love messing with the Doctors files...and I can never remember anything I do." She really is hyperventilating now can't say anything at all, I turn off the video, " Time seems to have taken no offense at my killing it and is not standing still... well,curiouser and curiouser...Lets go then."

I'm almost angry at my bluddy behg hids idea to spare Freak. Then at the door of the courtroom, that isn't really a door any more, I see two people running back a little late for their friend the hare. Then my bluddy behg hid thinks of something frabjous. I'm already pulling sweet rabbit by the hands I just push them, and her too, towards a spot of gasoline that just didn't get around to burning yet. Then I run off and leave the dormouse boy, brother dear, and sweet Alice, or maybe it was something with an E... well the girl to help their rabbity friend. I don't stop running until I'm well away and all I see is smoke. I have decided that if Rabbit doesn't die she is a witch because witches don't burn, I have also decided to kill a very lovely talking flower. I did enjoy her company, it's to bad really.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

A week later...

People think I'm gone, off to Metropolis or some such place. I love Wonderland far too much to leave though. I've still minds to break here anyway. I've left The Red King Wayne and his Batterwocky a gift. On the steps of the Gotham Botanical Gardens, a weed, called an Alice-Lily. They'll find euthanasia and hallucinogens in her veins, and how I wish Icould telll them about how she was so happy that she died in Wonderland. She just wouldn't be quiet about it. A gift for the king and a warning for sweet rabbit and company. They mustn't ever forget what they'll all end up like. Hare must not forget that I'll always be out to get her, and break her. Fairfarren...sweet rabbit...


End file.
